Following a four-hour expose broadcast, ‘Leaving Neverland’ that revealed gruesome testimonies of two women who claim that Michael Jackson harassed them sexually when they were children, a number of fans have bravely come out to stand up for the deceased pop star.
Fans have ferociously defended Michael Jackson, protesting outside Channel 4 (broadcaster of the documentary) headquarters; and even bought adverts on London buses, carrying the slogan: “Facts don’t lie, people do”.
Dan Reed, who directed Leaving Neverland, also said that he and Jackson’s accusers had also been targeted by Jackson’s fans.
“There’s been a lot of horrible things said about me online and we’ve received a lot of emails, too,” he said a few days before the documentary was broadcast.
“I’m amazed that people feel entitled to do that when they haven’t seen the film and don’t know anything about me and they know even less about Michael Jackson,” added Reed.
The fans behind the campaign include lawyers and journalists, who are forensically acquainted with Michael Jackson and the allegations against him.
“We felt very strongly we needed to be Michael’s voice,” says Anika Kotecha, who, is an administrator of the MJInnocent.com website.
“Because, ironically for someone whose entire career was based on his voice, he no longer has a voice,” she added.
Fans have further congregated around the hashtags #MJInnocent and #MJFam, posting lengthy rebuttals to the documentary on YouTube, social media and specially-constructed websites.